Brockton welcomes Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchise

The popular burger joint is now open next to the Westgate Mall in Brockton.

Staff Reporter

BROCKTON – SFC Michael Cote and a group of his fellow Army National Guardsmen regularly jog past the Westgate Mall in Brockton.

Recently their jogs have included some extra hunger pangs.

As they have headed south along Route 27, a large red sign showed that the popular burger joint Five Guys Burgers and Fries was under construction near the mall.

“We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” Cote, 38, said.

He and three other guardsmen, stationed with the National Guard in Brockton, donned their camouflage uniforms Tuesday morning while celebrating the grand opening of Five Guys on Westgate Drive.

Smoke from the griddle filled the air and bags of potatoes filled the aisles as members of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, local officials and area residents welcomed the franchise to the city.

“We're proud to be here in Brockton,” said co-owner Richard Valarioti, who, along with Bob Zinck, owns eight Five Guys in the area.

Zinck and Valarioti, once college roommates, have been operating Five Guys franchises in the region for the past six years. It took them a few years to find the right location in Brockton.

But as soon as they started construction earlier this year and put up the big red sign, residents began clamoring for a taste.

“It it open yet? When can we come in and enjoy the food?” Sen. Thomas P. Kennedy, D-Brockton said he heard from constituents over the last few months.

“This will be the top franchise in Massachusetts in no time,” he added.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries was founded as a carry-out burger joint in Arlington, Va., in 1986. Today it has more than 1,000 locations nationwide and is known for its locally grown and never-frozen ingredients.

That freshness was on display in the Brockton store in the form of 50-pound bags of potatoes, piled waist-high along the checkout line. On a busy day, the restaurant will go through 1,000 pounds of hand-cut potatoes.

“They’ll be cutting, cutting, cutting,” Zinck said of his workers, numbering 50 in Brockton. “It’s a lot of exercise.”

Ward 7 Councilor Shirley Asack, who represents the neighborhood including Five Guys, attended the opening with her daughters, ages 11 and 13. She said they are “very excited” for the new restaurant.